Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger Blu-ray Movie Review

Typical Allen.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 12, 2011

Sometimes the illusions work better than the medicine.

Woody Allen is a director who specializes in the Social Comedy with modern sensibilities, placing big-city characters and their very private lives on display for a laugh but for no real reason other than that he can and, well, because he's made some pretty good films and made quite a name for himself through the follies of unique characters struggling through crises of their own making and wondering why their world is in a constant state of personal and interpersonal flux. Allen's characters seem to thrive on personal drama and his films, then, are like an eye into the world of the socially fashionable but at the same time personally inept, and there's no film in which such drama is on display to a greater extent than in his latest picture, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. A modern day anti-Fairy tale with the hope of a happily-ever-after ending but with the realization -- for the audience, anyway -- that "the end" is really just the start of another loop in the unending cycle of human chaos, the film is pure Allen, even if it does take a jaunt over to London and leaves behind the director's trademark New York setting but doesn't lose the wit and charm that's made his movie a success with audiences who look to Allen for over-the-top drama and slightly out-of-whack "real people" characters.

As advertised...the meeting of a tall dark stranger.

Helena's (Gemma Jones, Sense & Sensibility) life is a state of upheaval. Her husband Alfie (Anthony Hopkins, The Mask of Zorro) has left her after decades of marriage for the much younger and far more curvaceous blonde Charmaine (Lucy Punch, Dinner for Schmucks) who is saddled with a past that doesn't seem to bother Alfie at all. Helena seeks help form a psychic, but she also has to suddenly start worrying about the well-being of her daughter, Sally (Naomi Watts, The International). Though she's just landed a great gig as an assistant to a big shot art dealer named Greg (Antonio Banderas, Desperado), her relationship with her husband Roy (Josh Brolin, No Country for Old Men), a struggling writer, is on the rocks. She's taken a liking to Greg, while Roy finds himself growing more attracted to the mysterious guitar-playing girl (Freida Pinto, Slumdog Millionaire) who's moved in across the way.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is, structurally, typical Allen, but whether the execution is a success is up for debate. Certainly, the story is fine if not with a hint of that dreaded "been there..." sort of feel to it. Midlife crises, collapsing relationships, self-doubts, budding romances both necessary and forbidden, and all of the typical Allen traits are exhibited through a character roster that's, yup, typical Allen (that's a running theme). Fans of Allen's subtle humor and thematically light but emotionally heavy interpersonal drama will probably find a lot to like in Tall Dark Stranger, and audiences turned off by the director's style will probably find it a serviceable but unimaginative venture. It shows promise, flashes of that old style Allen with quirky dialogue and steady, unobtrusive direction that gives the film something of a stage play feel rather than a fast-moving 21st century motion picture, but, again, typical Allen. At its center, Tall Dark Stranger is about people and their relationships, whether they be bowing out of one or butting into another; relationships are either forming or crumbling with each passing moment, for some characters simultaneously and for others as the show goes on, but a strong cast and a good mishmash of charter personalities spice things up for some interesting interpersonal drama and even a few laughs, all of which is, yes, just say it, typical Allen.

Unfortunately, for the complexity of their lives and the always in-flux status of their relationships, the characters of Tall Dark Stranger do come off as a little flat and one-dimensional; their personal drama me be a little too theatrical in its fluidity, but it's certainly enjoyable enough insofar as Allen again proves capable of taking the follies of others and turning them into an entity all their own that are as delightful for the audience as they are difficult for the players. The film yields an attitude that's steady; vibrant; and cheery, even, given all of the dramatical hoopla, but the film's breezy New Orleans-style light Jazz motifs nevertheless seem out of place, even considering Tall Dark Stranger's otherwise light-serious back-and-forth roller coaster tenor. Fortunately, Allen's generally smart script and excellent ensemble cast are both fantastic; that the director can boast a film with names like Hopkins, Watts, Brolin, Banderas, and Gemma Jones is not just a saving grace, but reason alone to watch. Better still, Tall Dark Stranger isn't just about the names on the marquee but the performances they give; only Hopkins doesn't completely disappear into character, though his effort is still fantastic. His fellow players, though, overshadow the legend and from the moment the film begins seem right at home as everyday people with everyday problems and everyday dreams who just so happen to live within the world of Woddy Allen's imaginative universe and must succumb to the writer/director's every whim, which they do gladly and with much spunk and spirit.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger debuts on Blu-ray with a fine 1080p Blu-ray transfer that's only as good as Allen's photography allows it to be. Technically, the transfer is just about perfect; there's no evidence of banding, print damage, blocking, noise reduction, or other troublesome no-no's, but Allen's overly warm palette and generally bland façade don't make for an eye-candy sort of Blu-ray. Indeed, colors take a heavy push towards a red/orange tone, which is carried over into the flesh tones; characters often look like they've spent far too much time out in the sun. Still, brighter shades -- purple flowers, London's red-sided double-decker buses -- are handled nicely and stand out as fairly natural in shading. Detail is adequate but far from extraordinary; the fim isn't abundantly sharp by its very nature, and the result is the appearance of softer details. Nevertheless, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger takes on an honest film-like look; grain is moderately heavy and present throughout. Blacks are stable and the image manages to produce a fair sense of depth. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger isn't a gorgeous film and the resultant Blu-ray isn't demo-worthy, but it appears to be an accurate representation of Woody Allen's vision.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger features a fairly odd audio offering: a DTS-HD MA 3.0 lossless soundtrack. Foregoing the back channels and the subwoofer, Sony's audio presentation won't dazzle listeners or push even the most modest of sound systems to their limits, but it's a solid all-around listen that handles Allen's limited soundtrack well enough. Ambience takes the biggest hit; various city atmospherics are confined to the front, as are more pronounced effects such as a steady falling rain as heard in chapter seven. The film's light Jazz-style scoring sounds nicely clear across the front, but the beats of a dance tune as heard in chapter 11 fail to bring that invigorating feel to the proceedings. The film is primarily dialogue-driven, and Sony's soundtrack handles the spoken word quite well, delivering every syllable crisply and efficiently through the center channel. This is a very basic nuts-and-bolts sort of listen, but that's all the film really needs.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger features only the film's theatrical trailer (1080p, 1:38), BD-Live connectivity, and previews for additional Sony titles.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If nothing else, Woody Allen has assembled a fantastic cast for You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, and all of them play their parts with a genuine feel and passion for the material that always has been and promises to continue to be a hallmark of Allen's films. Hhis upcoming Midnight in Paris sports a cast every bit as good as this one in both name recognition and talent; here's hoping that film is as charming as this one, just with a few of the wrinkles ironed out. As for Tall Dark Stranger, it's a solid all-around effort that even viewers who generally shy away from Allen fare might find some value in, even if only to see a star-studded cast at work. It's also a good representation of what Allen is all about, even if the film does leave behind the good old standby New York setting for a home across the pond. It's typical Allen, and that's not a bad thing at all. Just as good, this Blu-ray release is typical Sony. It might not bring with it any extras (typical Allen), but the video and audio qualities are quite good within the confines of the film's own technical merits. Recommended.